Just because you lack work experience doesn’t mean your CV can’t convince HR that you’re the right fit for a job. It’s all about how you craft your CV and what skills you showcase. Create a great CV that can land you an interview by using this guide to writing a CV with no experience. This guide is designed to assist you to write a skills-based CV that highlights why you’re a good fit for a role without relying on experience.
When to Use a Skills-Based CV
- Recently graduated
- Employment gaps
- Diverse skill set
- Moving industries
- Career change
One of the key advantages of a skills-based CV is that it can be written to reflect the specifications of an exact job advertised. This means that by using one, you’re better able to emphasise why you’re a strong candidate than if you use a traditional CV format.
What is a Skills-Based CV?
A skills-based CV is also called a skills-based resume or functional CV. The purpose of a skills-based CV is to demonstrate capabilities and proficiency, thereby highlighting your ability to fulfil a role. Accordingly, it emphasises what skills someone has instead of their job experience. Consequently, a skills-based CV focuses on transferable skills, achievements, and broader experiences rather than a chronological work history. The skills listed don’t necessarily come from formal employment. Instead, they can be gained from school and educational settings, volunteering or even by turning a hobby into a career.
Thus, a skills-based CV showcases crucial information relating to abilities. Thereby putting the skills that a potential employer is looking for, front and centre in the CV’s format.
How to Write a Skills-based CV
What can make starting to write a skills-based CV easier is to look at current job advertisements. These can give you an idea of the skills employers are looking for. Ideally, use a job ad from the industry or sector that you’re looking to work within. Take time to study job ads and write down all the skills that appear in them. Then separate the listed skills into hard and soft skills. Once you’ve done this, you have a basic framework to write the various sections of your own CV.
7 Key Sections of a Skills-Based CV
- Personal information.
- Personal statement – career aims.
- Education and qualifications.
- Tailored skills overview (hard and soft skills)
- Employment history.
- Hobbies and interests.
1. Personal Information
This first section is where you have your personal information. Look at the job advert and check if there are additional requirements. For example, being able to travel to a particular country. If this is the case, emphasise your citizenship (unless multiple citizenships apply) and any current/ongoing visas you have.
Essential Personal Information for a CV
- Full name
- Contact number
- Where you’re currently based
If you would like to, you can include a link to your professional online profile. If it’s relevant to the job application at hand then it’s advisable to it. However, it’s usually not expected and therefore optional unless requested. Some people also like to have a photo of themselves. It’s usually a personal preference and in most cases not required. However, there are a growing number of companies that request to see professional headshot images. And in some industries such as the sailing and yachting industry, it’s expected.
For your own safety and security, it’s wise to be cautious about including detailed personal information, such as your full residential address. Likewise, identity numbers, social security and/or passport numbers should not be included unless specifically requested. Most often it is not relevant to include personal information such as marital status or if you have children. Accordingly, avoid including this type of personal information as it can lead to potential bias.
2. Personal Statement – Career Aims
While this section can be left out, it can boost your CV especially if you are writing a CV with no experience. It’s essentially a concise summary about who you are, what you’ve done and where you want to get to. It needs to be focused on your career ambitions.
Think of it as your elevator-pitch – it’s the section of your CV that can help you stand out from other job seekers. Therefore, spend time ensuring it shows that you’re ambitious, motivated, and focused on building a successful career. Ensure that it’s realistic. You can also briefly contextualise your claims where you can with what you’ve done or are doing. For example, community involvement, volunteering, job shadowing, part-time studying or online courses.
If you prefer, your personal statement can also follow your name and serve as a 3–5-line introduction to your CV.
3. Education and Qualifications
Rather than just listing the courses you’ve completed, elaborate by highlighting specifics. For example, a course module that’s directly relevant to the job you want. Don’t forget to include a short summary of your thesis if you wrote one and tailor your description to align with the job requirements. For example, research, problem-solving and data analysis.
If you’ve got software experience, include it here as part of technical expertise. Think of the software you used at school, during a course or in your everyday life. It could include Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook), QuickBooks, Xero, SAGE, Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, Slack, Trello, Notion and AI tools.
When it comes to awards and achievements, include those that are relevant. For example, a class medal, and what it was for, is a good type of award to list. However, unless you want to work with animals, being the best neighbourhood dogwalker is something to add under hobbies and interests.
Note that if you prefer, this section can come after your work history information and can be listed in bullet points.
What to Include in the Education and Qualification Section of a CV
- Qualification name.
- Name of awarding institution and its location.
- Start and end dates of studies.
- Field of study.
- Relevant coursework.
- Achievements and awards.
- Extracurricular activities.
- Personal and additional certifications.
- Any in-progress qualifications or certifications.
4. Tailored Skills Overview
Never lie or pad the skills you have; most companies will do background checks. You can always upskill and add something later. But retracting a skill listed or being found to not be proficient in something you’ve claimed will count against you. Some companies will even flag and record it as a reason not to consider you for future job opportunities. Worse still is being hired and then dismissed for not having the skills you claimed to have.
Using the list of skills you compiled from the job ads, mark off the ones that you have. Then add any more you can think of. In addition to looking through job adverts, read online articles and lists of hard and soft skills. This can assist you in recognising skills you might otherwise have overlooked or not regarded as sought-after. What is particularly useful to employers is you knowing which skills you enjoy using and which you excel at.
When listing skills, give examples of how you’ve successfully used them. It could be while enjoying a hobby, during a volunteer session or working a job. The purpose is to show that you’re proficient and to contextualise the application of your skills.
3 Ways to Tailor Your Skills Overview
- Analyse the Job Description, especially noting its key skill requirements.
- Align and match your skills with those listed in the job requirements and nice-to-haves.
- Contextualise your skills with relevant examples to highlight your capabilities.
Types of Skills
There are two different categories of skills. These are hard skills and soft skills. Both are critical when it comes to having a successful career. Usually, hard skills are used to secure a job and your soft skills will determine how successfully you’re able to thrive within your workspace.
What are Hard Skills?
Hard skills are those that are learned or acquired through educational experience or by occupying a specific role. They’re easier to measure than soft skills because they are often confirmed through a certificate or qualification. Hard skills are also known as technical skills. Key characteristics of hard skills are that they are teachable, measurable, demonstratable and job specific.
10 Types of Hard Skills
- Computer software knowledge
- Computer programming
- Project management
- Social media
- Customer service
- Sales
- Digital marketing
- Graphic design
- Copywriting
- Fluency in foreign languages
What are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are human or people skills. This means they are personal attributes and interpersonal abilities which relate to how you work alongside and interact with other people. They include social skills, emotional intelligence, people skills and communication. The key characteristics of soft skills are that they are interpersonal, transferable personal traits and behavioural competencies not directly related to technical knowledge.
10 Top Soft Skills
- Teamwork
- Good communication (verbal and/or written)
- Problem solving
- Adaptability
- Self-motivation
- Own initiative
- Leadership
- Presentation skills
- Commitment to a job (Work ethic)
- Good time management
Soft skills are often a little intangible which makes them more difficult to measure. Therefore, rather than just list them, relate them so that they are more contextualised. By doing this you create a direct link between what you can do and what an employer is looking for.
How to Relate Soft Skills to a Job
- Problem solving: Able to adapt approaches and initiate solutions to problems.
- Adaptability: Flexible and resilient in changing situations and able to easily adjust to new conditions.
- Good time management: Organised and efficient so as to be continuously productive and meet output deadlines.
5. Work History
If you’re writing a CV with no work experience then this section will be short. However, think a bit further than paid employment when deciding how to approach your work history. What roles have you occupied and where did you gain experience or how did you upskill yourself? For example, were you part of a committee or body corporate, and what were your duties?
If you have volunteer experience this is where you can list it. Depending on how extensive it is, you could have a separate section focused on volunteer work.
When writing a CV with no experience, another option is to merge the employment and skills sections of your CV.
6. Hobbies and Interests
The purpose of this section is to show that you’re a well-rounded individual. While it shouldn’t be too long, this section can be a valuable way of catching a potential employer’s interest or helping you to stand out from other job-seekers. Therefore, keep it simple and honest, and ideally lead with your most relevant to the job hobbies or interests.
What to Avoid when listing Hobbies and Interests in CV
- Controversial interests and hobbies linked to sensitive topics. For example, collecting guns or keeping exotic pets.
- Inappropriate hobbies, such as celebrity stalking or sexual practices.
- Dangerous activities that suggest you take unnecessary risks or could flag you as a potential liability.
- Generic or Low-value pastimes, like browsing social media or hanging out with friends.
- Made-up or misleading interests that you cannot provide insight into or proof of.
- Anything that reflects negative traits, such as wasting time or laziness.
Some people prefer to put their volunteer experience under this section instead of listing it within their work history.
7. References
Not all references are job-related. Therefore, if you don’t have an employer or work experience affiliated reference you could use character and academic references. You can also use a reference from a mentor, a coach, or a trainer. The key qualities of a good reference are someone who is professional and positive. They should be someone with whom you have a strong relationship and who has direct experience with your skills.
Standard practice is to supply at least three different references in your CV. Alternatively, you can state that references will be supplied upon request and then provide them when asked to.
Always check ahead and get permission to use someone in your reference list. It’s ideal to have a longer list of references ahead of applying for jobs. This way you can match the most relevant reference to a job application without the pressure of finding one. Only include people who you know will be supportive of your abilities and if possible, avoid family references.
Should a CV have a Cover Letter?
Unless specified otherwise, a CV should always have a cover letter. Preferably, it should be tailored to the specific job being applied for and addressed to the appropriate person.
A cover letter doesn’t need to be long or complicated. The purpose of a cover letter is to let the recipient know why you’re sending your CV to them. It therefore should include what position you’re applying for and touch on how your qualifications/experience/background match the job’s description. If a CV is submitted via email, it can be the accompanying email, otherwise, it is a separate page on the top of your CV document.
What Makes a Good CV?
A good CV reflects you and is honest about what skills and achievements it showcases. It’s essentially an application to be considered for a job shortlisting. This means that you need to shine through it and highlight why your skills profile could be a great fit for the role. Many employers will consider employing someone who has less job experience if they come across as enthusiastic, teachable, and reliable.
The Key Recruitment Group provides expert advice for job seekers and assists in linking job seekers with the jobs they’re best suited for. This is why, once you’ve polished it up, submitting your CV to a recruitment agency is a great next step.
FAQ:
How to write a CV with no experience in South Africa?
If you lack work experience, use a skills-based CV instead of a traditional CV approach. A skills-based CV highlights why you’re a strong candidate for a job rather than focusing on matching your work experience to the job requirements.
What is the purpose of a skills-based CV?
The purpose of a skills-based CV is to demonstrate capabilities and proficiency, thereby highlighting your ability to fulfil a role. It focuses on transferable skills, achievements, and broader experiences rather than a chronological work history.
Who should use a skills-based CV?
You should use a skills-based CV if you are a recent graduate, have employment gaps or a diverse skill set. It is also suitable when applying for a job that requires changing industries or careers.